When Dan Klein was a star quarterback and pitcher at Servite High, he also volunteered as a student mentor for the all-boys Catholic school in Anaheim, Calif.
As part of the program, prospective students in seventh and eighth grade would shadow upperclassmen for a day to get a feel for the place.
Most upperclassmen were assigned three, maybe four middle-schoolers. Klein, however, had 23 — and all ended up going to Servite. By the final semester of his senior year, the administration and his parents jointly pulled the plug on Klein's volunteerism so he could concentrate on his studies.
"Kids would start requesting him. A lot of them knew who he was because he was established in both sports, but he didn't big-time them even though he was four or five years older," said Klein's father, Chris. "To me, it's the little things that let you know you raised your kids right. He treated those guys well. He didn't act like he was somebody."
Klein, now 22, is quickly becoming somebody in the Orioles' organization. Selected in the third round of June's amateur draft after serving as UCLA's closer, Klein has already made it to Double-A Bowie. With Zach Britton in the big leagues, Klein is the organization's top pitching prospect despite having thrown only 33 1/3 innings as a pro.
Ask anyone who knows the 6-foot-3, 190-pound right-hander and they'll say his quick progression is no surprise.
"I have seen him dominate the best hitters in college," said Matt Grace, one of Klein's UCLA roommates, who pitches in the Washington Nationals' organization. "I know that is different from pro ball, but with his stuff and his demeanor, I expected that to happen and for him to keep moving quickly."
After allowing two base runners and striking out 10 batters in 6 1/3 scoreless innings last year at short-season Single-A Aberdeen, Klein began this season at High-A Frederick, where he had a 1.15 ERA and struck out 21 batters in 15 2/3 innings. Heading into Monday night, he had given up just one earned run in six outings at Bowie and had been charged with three earned runs allowed as a pro — two of them on solo homers while he was with the Keys.
"I'm trying to limit my mistakes, and the two balls that got hit out [at Frederick] were mistakes over the plate and they should get hit in pro ball," Klein said recently. "But I am real happy with how I am doing for the first month, at least. I know it is a long season and I've got to keep improving."
In high school, Klein had multiple football scholarship offers, including one from California and quarterback guru Jeff Tedford. During Klein's senior year, then-Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis, who was at Servite recruiting another player, took Klein aside and said, "Son, when Jeff Tedford offers you a scholarship to play quarterback, you take it."
Klein just laughed; his dream was to play baseball at childhood favorite UCLA.
"The decision was easier than you might think," Chris Klein said. "The way Dan put it later is that he was a baseball player that played football."
Something special
Chris, a firefighter, and his wife, Teri, a teacher, stressed that all three of their children get an education. Early on, though, Chris Klein knew his oldest child had a gift.
When Dan Klein was about 6, he and his father were playing catch before a T-ball game when other dads began staring. While the other boys were throwing two-hop dribblers, Klein was making his dad's glove pop loudly with every toss.
"I just thought that's what kids at 5 did, but once we got there and I saw the others, I thought, 'Maybe we have something going on here,'" Chris Klein said.
By high school, the Orioles had noticed Klein. Understanding he likely was going to UCLA, they selected him in the 24th round of the 2007 draft, figuring that if they couldn't sign top picks such as catcher Matt Wieters and pitcher Jake Arrieta, they'd make a run at Klein.
They never made an intriguing offer, but scout Mark Ralston kept tabs on the kid. Klein had a strong freshman year that was cut short by shoulder discomfort, which reappeared the next season. He had shoulder surgery as a sophomore, wiping out that season. Scar tissue was removed, but no damage to the rotator cuff or labrum was discovered.
He was ready for his junior year, but when he looked at the Bruins' packed roster — which included two starters who are consensus top-10 draft picks next month — Klein realized the club needed bullpen help.
"He came to me and said, 'Hey, I am your closer,'" UCLA coach John Savage said. "I believe that was in December, and I gave him the ball the rest of the way and didn't blink an eye. He just naturally wanted to finish games."
Klein was 6-1 with 10 saves and a 1.90ERA in 39 games for the 2010 Bruins, including a season-high 3 1/3 innings in a losing effort in the College World Series title game. Three weeks earlier, the Orioles had drafted him for the second time in three years. This time, as the 85th overall pick, he signed for an above-slot bonus of $499,900.
Maybe it was the shoulder surgery or because college closers aren't as coveted as starters, but Klein was listed as the 54th best right-handed pitcher available in the 2010 draft, according to Baseball America. The Orioles had him rated much higher.
"If we had had a second-round pick, he would have been our second-rounder," scouting director Joe Jordan said. "I really think this guy is comfortable with being good. … He has a little bit of that 'it' factor. He'll do what he needs to do and trust his stuff."
Uncertain role
Now the question is what to do with him. He has a closer's mentality, but his fastball sits in the low 90s. Conversely, he has four pitches — fastball, changeup, slider and curveball — that he throws for strikes, making him more suited to be a big league starter. The Orioles are pitching him in short relief stints and expect to cap him at 100 innings this season.
"I know there have been a lot of questions about starting, relieving," player development director John Stockstill said. "Over the course of his career, he can be a starter; he has four pitches. At this point, he'll get most of his innings in a relief role throughout the season, consistent to getting him ready to move forward next year either as a continued reliever or as an option to start. But there will be a limited number of innings next year as well."
His college coach, Savage, sees him as a big league starter. Grace, his college roommate, expects him to be a late-inning reliever. Orioles manager Buck Showalter saw Klein pitch an inning this spring in big league camp (he allowed one run against the Pittsburgh Pirates on March24) and was impressed by his poise and multi-pitch arsenal.
For his part, Klein says he loved closing but just wants to pitch.
"I am a reliever right now, so I see myself as a reliever," he said. "Whether I am going to start down the road, I don't know. But as long as I am in the 'pen, I am a bullpen guy and I am embracing that role."
For Klein to get to Baltimore, the Orioles want to see him make adjustments, specifically throwing his fastball more often instead of relying on off-speed stuff that minor leaguers can't hit.
"That's something, organizationally, they'd like to have him do," Bowie manager Gary Kendall said. "Develop the command and control of that fastball."
Otherwise, Klein seems to be the whole package: smart, driven, poised. The kind of kid that sends home two dozen roses on Mother's Day despite being thousands of miles away. A quiet, fun-loving Californian who amuses himself by playing practical jokes on friends but takes college classes in the offseason to complete his political science degree.
"The guy just has tremendous values, and he has a presence about him that I think will take him a long way," Savage said. "I just think he has a tremendous future."
Notes: Second base prospect LJ Hoes has been promoted from Single-A Frederick to Double-A Bowie. Hoes, 21, batted .241 with three homers, 17 RBIs and four steals in 41 games for the Keys. He got off to a poor start but has raised his average in the past couple of weeks. Hoes, a Bowie native who was the Orioles' third-round pick in 2008, is ranked as the Orioles' fourth-best prospect by Baseball America. He played in three games for Bowie last year, going 2-for-9 with an RBI. … Catcher Luis Bernardo was transferred to the Gulf Coast League team. The Orioles are talking about converting Bernardo into a pitcher because he has struggled to hit, carrying a .221 career minor league average into this season. Catcher Adam Donachie was transferred to Fredrick to take Bernardo's place. … Keys right-hander Bobby Bundy was named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week. … Single-A Delmarva's Mike Flacco was named the South Atlantic League Player of the Week.
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Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Zrebiec contributed to this article.